Twofour54, the commercial arm of the Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi, welcomed young and ambitious Emiratis and invited the media to visit their stand at the Tawdheef recruitment exhibition to learn about career opportunities available for Emiratis in Abu Dhabi’s flourishing media industry.

Mariam Al Mheiri, the COO of Twofour54, said: “Through Twofour54′s participation in the exhibition, we aim to introduce young Emiratis to the career opportunities available in the media industry and inform them about the various projects and support programmes we offer. We are working on strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a regional hub for content creation by providing the training for young talent that will enable them to succeed in their careers.”

The media industry’s expansion is part of Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030 to develop strong local industries that will create alternative and diverse sources of revenue.

Around 43% of Twofour54′s employees are Emirati. Al Mheiri said the Media Zone Authority-Abu Dhabi also provides opportunities for freelancers to contribute to the development of the media industry. She added that Twofour54 aims to raise its proportion of nationals by up to 50% by end of 2014.

Ms Al Mheiri explained that the media industry is project-based and often depends on freelance talent that can be mobilized at short notice. Once the freelancers are registered, they will be able to get purchasing orders and officially compete on tenders. She said Twofour54 provides this option and creative individuals licensed by the Media Zone can apply for UAE residence visas. This is enabling Twofour54 to build a community of experts in areas such as sound and video editing, filming, production, special effects and styling.

The Media Zone trains candidates through Twofour54 tadreeb. tadreeb’s courses include full-time training with the Cartoon Network Animation Academy, the Twofour54 Gaming Academy, in partnership with Ubisoft, and the traineeship in TV production. Short courses teach a variety of skills including public relations, media, media software, animation, filming and photography, writing, public speaking and translation. More than 650 – around 46 per cent of the total – of the current trainees are Emirati.

The Tawdheef exhibition is an opportunity for companies to find and develop Emirati talent. It provides a platform for young Emirati men and women graduates of universities and colleges to meet with the employers in the public and private sectors that specialise various fields including media and entertainment, energy and banking, tourism and services and defense.